Kershaw to start on mound for NL; Acuña to lead off

Longtime Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was named the starting pitcher for the National League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner will start the 92nd All-Star Game against Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan, who was named the starter for the American League.

“Because we are here in Los Angeles, home of the Dodgers, you toss this around, and Clayton’s name kept coming to the forefront to start this game,” NL manager Brian Snitker said. “His reputation and what he’s meant to the game of baseball and the Los Angeles Dodgers, I think it’s just perfect that he start this game for us.”

AL manager Dusty Baker chose MLB ERA leader McClanahan as his starter despite saying, “To tell you the truth, I’ve never seen him pitch.”

That is not true, however. McClanahan, 25, allowed three runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief against Baker’s Houston Astros in the 2020 AL Championship Series.

McClanahan, and others, will face an NL lineup that consists of — in order — Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves right fielder), Mookie Betts (Dodgers center fielder), Manny Machado (San Diego Padres third baseman), Paul Goldschmidt (St. Louis Cardinals first baseman), Trea Turner (Dodgers shortstop), Willson Contreras (Chicago Cubs catcher), William Contreras (Braves designated hitter), Joc Pederson (San Francisco Giants left fielder) and Jeff McNeil (New York Mets second baseman).

Kershaw, and others, will face an AL lineup that consists of — in order — Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels designated hitter), Aaron Judge (New York Yankees right fielder), Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox third baseman), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays first baseman), Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees left fielder), Byron Buxton (Minnesota Twins center fielder), Tim Anderson (Chicago White Sox shortstop), Andres Gimenez (Cleveland Guardians) and Alejandro Kirk (Blue Jays catcher).